Danzo: The Uchiha Are Nothing but a Bunch of Arrogant Fools Who Don't Know Their Place!

"Sorry!"

Shisui Uchiha's eyes instantly became Sharingan with three tomoe, spinning wildly as he cast a Genjutsu on Shimura Danzō.

Shimura Danzō, who had been charging at Shisui Uchiha, froze on the spot.

"It was just an ordinary Genjutsu, Lord Danzo," Shisui Uchiha said in a low voice.

With that, Shisui Uchiha glanced at the Root ninja who had already rushed over and jumped backward, intending to leave.

He had failed to notice the hand seals Danzo had made with one hand tucked inside his clothing before he cast the Genjutsu.

Bang!

Shisui Uchiha was suddenly struck hard in the abdomen as he retreated. His body pitched forward uncontrollably, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

Shimura Danzō, who had supposedly been under the Genjutsu's control, used the Body Flicker Technique to charge straight in front of Shisui Uchiha.

He drove a punch into Shisui Uchiha's abdomen, then grabbed his hair while he was still stunned and delivered another punch to his chin.

The blow made Shisui Uchiha's pupils shake wildly and nearly knocked him unconscious.

Shimura Danzō seized the opportunity, thrusting a hand toward Shisui Uchiha's right eye socket and swiftly plucking out his right eye.

Only then did Shisui Uchiha react, staggering back several steps.

He covered his right eye socket and looked up at Shimura Danzō in disbelief. That fluctuation just now...

It was Izanagi!

How could this be?!

Shimura Danzō pulled off the bandages wrapped around his head, revealing a sinister, blood-red Sharingan in his covered right eye socket before Shisui Uchiha.

But in the next second, Shimura Danzō's once blood-red Sharingan went dull and lifeless.

"Your Sharingan will replace this eye of mine."

"And hand over the other one too."

Shimura Danzō spoke to Shisui Uchiha as though it were only natural.

As soon as he finished, the dozen or so Root ninja who had withdrawn to the side stepped forward and surrounded Shisui Uchiha.

"So you were behind the deaths of the Uchiha Clan's young members who went out on missions over the past few years?!"

Shisui Uchiha fought back the pain coming from his empty right eye socket and shouted the question at Shimura Danzō.

So many people within the Uchiha Clan had been calling for and supporting rebellion because their own children and descendants had never returned after leaving the village on missions.

None had been found alive, nor had their bodies been found.

And all of them had been geniuses who had awakened the Mitsudomoe at a young age.

"Heh... You Uchiha are nothing but a bunch of arrogant fools who don't know your place. I tried to recruit them, but every last one of them thought himself extraordinary."

"People like that have no need to stay alive."

A look of disdain appeared on Shimura Danzō's face. When he finished speaking, he raised a hand and waved it.

At his command, the Root ninja immediately closed in on Shisui Uchiha.

Shisui Uchiha's remaining left eye darted around, and he nimbly dodged each attack.

At last, Shisui Uchiha found a small opening and quickly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

As though they had practiced it countless times, the Root ninja formed hand seals and unleashed Water Release to block Shisui Uchiha's Fire Style.

The instant the massive fireball collided with several waves of water, it exploded into a cloud of scalding steam that spread in every direction.

As the steam spread, an intensely dark shroud of black enveloped everyone present ahead of it.

"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!"

Hagoromo, who had been hiding nearby all along, used the A-rank forbidden Genjutsu he had acquired long ago but never used, just as Shisui Uchiha and the Root ninja exchanged Ninjutsu.

Before the darkness of the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique could envelop him, Shimura Danzō shouted to the Root ninja around him, "Rally to me!"

Unfortunately for him, the Root ninja who had been exchanging Ninjutsu with Shisui Uchiha were all at the front.

And as it happened, Danzo's current position was the greatest opening.

Now!

Hagoromo stepped forward. With everyone caught within the technique's range and deprived of sight, he moved freely, like a fish in the sea.

Clang—

Hagoromo drew his standard-issue long blade, rushed straight at Shimura Danzō's right shoulder, and cut down through it at the joint.

Shimura Danzō, who had only just been deprived of sight, felt a terrible pain in his right shoulder.

Realizing something was wrong, Shimura Danzō used the angle at which the blade had entered his shoulder to guide him and formed hand seals with one hand.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

As he completed the seals, Shimura Danzō drew a deep breath, then expelled Chakra compressed to its limit, transforming it into several scythe-like blades of wind.

Hagoromo watched the several enormous blades of wind Danzo had blown out.

He leaped up, dodging the Vacuum Serial Waves that seemed to block off every direction he could move.

Within the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, all sight was blocked.

For Shimura Danzō to think he could pinpoint Hagoromo's position by touch alone was, frankly, far too confident.

Besides, what did he think Hagoromo had been waiting for when he activated the Ninjutsu just as the two sides' techniques collided?

The instant the Great Fireball and Wild Water Wave collided, the steam produced would expand rapidly as the pressure was suddenly released, creating a high-temperature shock wave and a thunderous noise.

Under normal circumstances, when they could see, it wouldn't have been a problem, since ninja would dodge or defend themselves in advance.

But having their sight snatched away by sudden darkness would deprive them of their most basic judgment.

The shock wave and thunderous noise released when two powerful Ninjutsu collided could also leave them dizzy and their ears ringing for a moment.

And that was Hagoromo's opportunity.

In this darkness, Hagoromo moved almost as though he were walking through his own domain. Blade in hand, he vanished once more.

Slash—!

Hagoromo struck down from above, aiming for Danzo's remaining left hand, which still held Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan tightly in its palm even now.

Thud...

"Aah!!!"

The left hand severed this time was flesh and blood, and even someone as ruthless as Danzo couldn't suppress a cry of pain.

Hm?

Hagoromo, who had been considering killing Danzo right then and there, sensed quite a few people heading straight this way.

Kakashi Hatake was leading them. Had the situation at Naka Shrine been discovered?

Looking at Danzo, who was howling incessantly like a wounded beast, Hagoromo couldn't help muttering to himself.

You're getting off easy.

He took a step and vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.

As Hagoromo withdrew, the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique automatically ended, and the gloom receded swiftly like a tide.

To the Root ninja who had just emerged from the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, even the light of dusk was too bright to adjust to immediately.

A short while later, hearing their leader's cries, the ninja turned to look one after another.

Shimura Danzō was howling like a beaten dog, with blood scattered across a wide area around him.

"Lord Danzo!"

The Root ninja rushed forward and supported Shimura Danzō.

"Go! Hurry!"

Fortunately, Shimura Danzō was still clearheaded. He had distinctly sensed killing intent just now, yet that person hadn't made a move in the end.

That meant someone was already heading this way. Whatever the reason, Root had to retreat now.